


The prince & the apple

by Tr95line



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Crosstale | XTale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Crosstale Sans (Undertale), Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Errortale Sans (Undertale), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Inktale Sans (Undertale), Killer Sans (Undertale) - Freeform, Protective Errortale Sans (Undertale), Uncorrupted Dreamtale Nightmare Sans (Undertale), alternative universe, royal family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29875410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tr95line/pseuds/Tr95line
Summary: (This is a fanfiction on Undertale mainly inspired by the “Dreamtale” AU)Nightmare had always been the perfect prince. He was smart, much smarter than the kids of his age, he was polite, kind and calm. He had a great ability with the sword comparable only to his love for books and tales.Nightmare had always followed all the rules, after-all they were there for a reason right? But, as day after day he watched how his kingdom stayed grey and quiet unlike the bright and vibrant ones he read about in his stories, he wondered if maybe, breaking rules just that one time couldn’t be that bad right? After all he was doing it for a good reason, it was just his duty as a prince to seek for his people’s happiness and wellbeing right?With that goal in mind the young prince made his decision, and just as the heroes he loved so much reading about, he left the castle, his home, disappearing in the night to start his journey.WARNINGFirst 4 chapters are introduction (clear context of story). I know it can be a bit boring so I will make a little summary chapter so the people who want to get straight to the action will be able to simply skip those chapters and start from the 5th chapter :3
Relationships: Sans & Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1: The King and the Tale

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfiction on Undertale I really hope you'll like it! Comments are really really appreciated! I am also a begginer artist i may even do some illustration of this in the future, so if you want to see them and support me follow my instagram @triscia02line! Hope you have a good time reading this fanfic, have a lovely day!
> 
> (I apologise for typos english isn't my first lenguage)

Once upon a time there was an ambitious king of a little kingdom who wanted nothing more but the power to rule over the world that once belonged to his ancestors, after-all it was in his right. Conquering land after land he tried he soon found out it wasn’t enough, he needed more to reach his goal.

One day, in his old library, between dusty scrappy manuscripts he found a legends book. At first glance it appeared to simply be a book with magic fables to tell kids before bed, but the king quickly noticed how that book was different from all the others in that section.

While all the others books were in a bad state, more than old and fragile, that book seemed ancient and precious. There was something about it that attracted the king. Gold and silver decorated its leather cover, pages and pages filled with words in smooth black ink and beautiful illustration which shone like the most precious gems, like the most refined stained glass when hit by a ray of sunlight. That book was filled with wisdom and knowledge over things common monsters lost knowledge about many centuries before.

Greedily, the king started reading page after page, intoxicated from those magic tales about creatures and objects whose power could be barely imaged. Tale after tale, he arrived to something that woke up memories buried in the back of his mind many years before. An old legend he heard as a kid, a secret tale only his family was aware of, a soft lullaby transferred from generation in generation in the royal family. He knew that was what he was looking for, it had to be somehow a sign from his ancestors, that tale was meant for him.

A tale about a guardian and two precious apples, apples of feelings, apples of immense power. He knew he needed those apples, to fulfill his duty, but just as he was getting to the end of the tale, the last page where he knew the map for the holy temple was, was ripped apart, a half missing. This caused in him a great despair, even tho he searched and scanned in every line for every little clue, he knew without the last part of the tale he couldn’t get to the guardian’s temple.

His despair turned quickly in determination, obsessed by the search of the holy apples he demanded for the last part of the tale to be found. He destroyed and threatened and negotiated. It didn’t matter what he did, the ripped page was impossible to find. It didn’t matter was his advisor said, he knew it couldn’t be rotten or have been destroyed. He knew it was there, somewhere, waiting to be found.

He placed and insanely high reward for whoever who would have brought the missing page to him and finally his desire was fulfilled. Voices about someone who knew about magic, voices about a woman with a house filled with secrets. The king went to her to ask for the missing page, if someone knew where it was it was her. The woman refused to give the page, she warned the king about how such power needed to stay where it was, he couldn’t have the apples. She talked about balance, she talked about peace and war, creation and destruction. But the king’s ears were numb to his words.

A single woman could nothing against such powerful king, quickly enough she was dusted when she refused to collaborate and the soldiers took every object from that house, but the page was again nowhere to be found. As they were going to live the house, the king filled with rage started destroying the place until he heard a little muffed sound. It came from inside the house. Immediately the search started again under the ruler’s commands even if most of the soldier thought he had hallucinated the sound as none else heard it. But the king knew what he heard and after searching more and more they found a hidden door behind a mirror attached to the wall.

The king ignored his reflection which would have shown him his own madness and insane obsession. And there it was, inside that room a little chest with the page he had so long craved for.

He ignored all the other objects and things surrounding him, he could just focus on that single page which had written on all the information he needed. As the map was completed he immediately followed it accompanied only by his most skilled and loyal guards.

He came back to his castle many weeks later, without half of the soldiers he had left with, without the holy fruits, with his hands and soul stained in blood and dirt, with a baby in his arms.

Years later that baby would grow into a smart, calm and kind prince who would start the same journey of the king. That baby was named Nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2: the little prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to everyone! This second chapter is somehow still a little introduction- just to give some contest XD I really hope you enjoy it, if you do let me know in the comments! From next chapter we will finally have some development :3 thanks for reading and have a lovely day!
> 
> If you want to support me you can follow me on instagram: @Triscia02line

Outside the few guards who survived and the king himself, none was aware of what exactly happened during their journey at the search of the holy apples. None knew what they witnessed, who they fought against or why they were back with a little baby.

A baby brought to the castle in the heart of the night, baptized by the pearly moonlight as he rested peacefully in the monarch’s arms, shining twinkling stars watching over him.

The king closed himself in his personal library for weeks after his return, asking for food, which ended to be barely touched, to be brought directly to his studio so he wouldn’t have any reason to leave the room. He didn’t want any kind of distraction, he made sure all his duties were taken care of by his advisers as he lost himself in between the tons of pages of old manuscripts he had collected over the years.

None was allowed to interrupt him for any reason beside the daily updates about the conditions and behavior of the mysterious kid, who seemed to be the only thing he cared about, the only thing he could focus on.

The little being was indeed peculiar. His violet eyes seemed to hold somehow many secrets as if all the wisdom of the universe constantly flew through them. To the servants it was simply unbelievable how someone so little and fragile held such important presence to the point everyone who entered in a room where he was couldn’t stop themselves from glancing to him.

As if his unusual aura wasn’t enough, his behavior seemed somehow odd to the adults who took care of him. Unlike the other toddlers who would cry or scream all the time unable to stay still for a single moment, the little boy was oddly quiet and calm. It surely made looking after him a much simpler and less annoying task, but at the same time confused his caregivers.

As time went on, the staff of the castle decided that they couldn’t keep leaving unnamed the little kid who seemed was going to stay there for a long time. Inspired by his mysterious arrival in the dark, they started calling him Night. Puzzled and sometimes slightly creeped out by his unusual behavior, the baby’s name changed and nickname after nickname the servants settled in an oddly affective way into calling him Nightmare.

The little and quiet kid quickly became a constant in the life of the castle, everyone grew attached to the big curios eyes which seemed to observe everything around him, by the soft voice which sometimes could be heard trying to muster some words and by his adorable expressions whenever he seemed focused on something.

When the king suddenly declared him as part of the royal family, none complained.

From day to night, in the same sudden way the little kid had arrived, he became the little prince of that land. It was incredibly how smoothly he fitted into his new life. None outside of the few trusted servants in the castle knew of the boy’s origins, none ever doubted of his legitimacy as a member of the royal family due how simply regal his behavior was.

The little skeleton always maintained his unique aura growing up, it was unbelievable how someone so little could give a sense of such immense wisdom, bravery and respect.

The little prince grew loved and respected turning into a smart and kind young skeleton who none doubted would make an amazing king once the time arrived.

Nightmare’s life at the castle settled in a comfortable routine that he indeed enjoyed. Every morning he would wake up from his peaceful sleep and would be served with a warm cup of tea and a lemon tart as most of the others baked desserts were often too sweets for his personal taste. He would enjoy the first couple of hours of his day simply relaxing in bed, enjoying the quietness of the capital and the slightly cold breeze he could hide from in his warm blankets.

During the morning, as well than through all the day, silence and quietness reigned over the capital.

After getting ready Nightmare would have his morning lessons with private teachers, being the only student the professors fully focused on him and his improvement as every little part of the classes were designed to fit him. He had two tutors, one for the more theoretical subjects such as history, literature, strategy, rhetoric or administration and another one for the practical lessons which meant learn how to become skillful in the use of lot of different weapons such as swords, bow and arrows or spears. The young prince was constantly praised for his extraordinary achievements in each lesson, he was naturally smart, capable and put lot of effort into staying as focused as possible. He was the perfect student.

After lunch break he would either have afternoon lessons, some samples of a royal’s life or simple free time. In the first case, he would have lessons outside the strict perimeter of the castle and would learn things as equitation, medicine with a focus on recognizing beneficial plants, geography and study of the surrounding territory or simple survival skills training. In the second case he would follow the king’s advisers around and even participate in some meetings and discussions even if for the most he was only a quiet listener and observer as considered still too young to express openly his opinion in such important matters. If he had free time he would just do whatever inspired him on that day until dinner time arrived.

During his meals, both at dinner and at lunch, unless it was some diplomatic meeting, he would often be alone. His grandfather rarely left his side of the castle, when he was kid he used to be always around but as years passed and his health deteriorated he came out less and less from his habitation. Nightmare was an only child who honestly didn’t appreciate the company of the often bratty sons of the nobles. His father, the king, was often outside in some far land for either diplomatic meetings or in mysterious journeys at the search of ancient holy objects.

So Nightmare was often alone, but he didn’t really feel lonely most of the time. He enjoyed the quietness, he enjoyed the company servants would give him, he enjoyed how some nobles and advisors would treat him nearly as an equal even at his young age and would start discussions over the most complex topics that the young prince found fascinating.

But even if most of the time he didn’t feel lonely, it didn’t time mean there weren’t times where he did feel like that. He didn’t pay much attention to the feeling at first because for as long as he could remember he had often had those moments of silent loneliness; there has always been something missing in his life.

A spark that wasn’t there, that was nowhere to be found. And somehow, as he grew up, he started feeling as if he wasn’t the only one missing that spark. Sometimes he felt it was a shared feeling in the capital. His loved city, so quiet and organized missed something somehow. But what could it ever be?

For a while he didn’t know what that was, until one day, or would be better say, one night he did. He found out what was missing when his grandfather gave him something really special in the night of his seventh birthday.

His first book of tales.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to everyone! This second chapter is somehow still a little introduction- just to give some contest XD I really hope you enjoy it, if you do let me know in the comments! From next chapter we will finally have some development :3 thanks for reading and have a lovely day!
> 
> If you want to support me you can follow me on instagram: @Triscia02line


	3. Chapter 3: the prince's seventh birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to everyone! I am really enjoying writing this book a lot- the chapters are a bit short but I think they are nice like this. I don't want to make them too long or too boring, I hope you like them too!  
> As always, if you are enjoying the story leave some comment and if you want to support me follow my instagram: @triscia02line  
> Have a lovely day!

Nightmare had always had a pretty good memory, that was also one of the reasons about why he was such a good student, he could easily read information and remember it for a long time pretty much perfectly.

This ability didn’t concern only his academic life, but also the memories of his childhood. Even so, between all his memories the one of the night of his seventh birthday was particularly vivid as if it had happened just the night before.

The birthday of the little prince aligned with the night he was brought at the castle. In his quiet kingdom there was no lively party to celebrate the event, and Nightmare had always been thankful for that even as a kid. There were no loud sounds or people cheering or parades in the roads of the city, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t an important day. Nightmare would be allowed to sleep in as long as he wanted, the servants would cook him his favorite dishes, nobles and common people would bring gifts to the young prince, his father would be home and spend time with him and he was allowed to roam against the city for how long he wanted to.

Everyone was filled of such serenity on that day, people would close their shops and activities and would just spend time with their families at home or go out for a walk or a drink. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful as everyone enjoyed some rest and dedicated some time to themselves and the ones they loved.

Even without the noises of festivals and cheering it was clear a huge event was going on, Winter was at its end and the first magic beautiful violet flowers which announced Spring would be everywhere. To the capital the arrival of the little prince aligned with the awakening of nature after a soft white winter. Those beautiful little flowers would be everywhere on the main roads, carefully placed by the citizen to create beautiful designs, filling the air with a strong, but not overbearing, fragrance. Those little flowers were renamed after the arrival of the prince as “Little Nightchildren”. For as beautiful as they were during the day, it wasn’t comparable to what happened after the sun went hiding under the hills and the motherly moon would beam in all his pearly brightness. Once night arrived those flowers would start shining illuminating the city of a soft violet light offering such magic landscape where lost your eyes in.

Between all his birthdays, Nightmare remembered in particular his seventh one as it changed his life totally. It has been a normal, peaceful birthday day which was coming to an end. The little prince had enjoyed all the attention and the trip to the city. On his head was resting a tiny crown made of the little nightchildren flower which were shining on his head giving him an ethereal look as if he wasn’t from their world. He was preparing himself to go to bed, after all it had been a happy but also tiring day. His father always made sure to spend time with him on that day, he was always serious and severe, their time together would often look more like lessons as the king showed him new tricks with weapons. He was a man of few words, but Nightmare didn’t mind it much even if sometimes it could be quiet frustrating, he liked the quietness and even if the man always looked so strict and cold he was used to it. So he just somehow enjoyed their time trying to remember all those few words, nods of approval and secret tricks his teachers knew nothing about.

The little prince was ready to go to sleep, his soft pajama already on and his body laying down on the warm welcoming bed. As always during his birthday night, his father would visit him briefly, he would sometimes place in a calm way a hand on his head for a couple of seconds and wish him a goodnight. Everything was going on as usual, but before he could drift into a soft sleep, someone else knocked at the door. Curiously the little prince looked up as his grandfather entered the bedroom holding something in his hands. His father and his grandfather exchanged some weird look, Nightmare has always been quiet perspicacious, even so he was never really able to read the glances the two adults would exchange.

Nightmare was a bit confused by the sudden visit, but he surely appreciated the sudden sight of the old man who was usually much more attentive and affectionate than the king. After some seconds his father left without even wishing him goodnight as always which indeed made the little prince slightly upset. He was quickly distracted by it as his grandfather approached him. Nightmare smiled as he started telling the old man about his day, especially about his progresses and achievements as he always seemed interested into it and Nightmare wanted in an indeed innocent way to show the man he respected so much how good he was being.

After their little chat the old man handed something to the little kid, it was a book, but it didn’t look as all the books he had up to that moment. He frowned slightly as he focused on it and immediately started studying his aspect trying to figure out the subject.

“This is a book of tales Nightmare” the old man said making the kid look up curios to him “tales?” he asked slightly confused. He never had a book of tales before. He had books before, but they would always be for school or in general to learn how to do something, so he wasn’t sure what do with this new object. He had to study it? Analyze it?

The old man seemed to read the genuine confusion in his expression as he chuckled lightly “You don’t have to study it, not immediately. You have to do something important before of studying and analyzing it okay Nightmare?” the man said as the little prince looked ready to follow whatever instructions from the old man “before studying a book of tales you have to read it, but not as you would read one of the boring books you read during your lessons” Nightmare frowned a bit to it, he liked his school books, but he didn’t comment about it “You can’t understand a tales book using the same method you use for other manuscripts. You have to read this book with new eyes, you don’t have to look at the pages and simply read the words on it, you have to loose yourself into them, you have to observe the images as if you were inside of them too, you have to be part of the story you are reading, you have to be the main character, you have to share his ambition and desire for those magic objects, feel their power and understand the sacrifices and pain the protagonist suffer to do what needs to be done. You have to drown in the story and only then you will really understand it”

Nightmare had always been a smart kid, but he was still only 7 and that long speech was for the most senseless to him. He memorized the words and he would never forget them, but he didn’t really understand them at that time. He frowned slightly, he really didn’t want to drown or get lost, not even in a metaphorical way, why would he ever want to do something like that? But he didn’t want to argue with his grandfather, if he said so he would follow his instructions, after all the old man surely knew better.

The little prince nodded as if he was given an important mission, the old man seemed satisfied with it so after squeezing gently his shoulder the kid’s grandfather left the room.

Nightmare observed him leaving and then turned frowning to the book in his arms, all his attention focused on this last precious birthday’s gift as he tried to understand how he should approach it without risking drowning somewhere.

He should probably wait for the next day, when his mind was fresh and ready, but the curiosity was so great he couldn’t stop himself from opening the book and let his little hands roam around the pages, touching curiously the beautiful images.

And then he started reading, the moon and stars as his only company.

He started reading and his life changed forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to everyone! I am really enjoying writing this book a lot- the chapters are a bit short but I think they are nice like this. I don't want to make them too long or too boring, I hope you like them too!  
> As always, if you are enjoying the story leave some comment and if you want to support me follow my instagram: @triscia02line  
> Have a lovely day!


	4. Chapter 3: tales can change a life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is the last "introduction" chapter. From the next one finally Nightmare's adventures will start and you will be finally able to enjoy some good action and dialogues! I hope you liked these chapters, i just wanted to describe you some more of Nightmare so you could really understand better the context. I hope you liked it, have a lovely day!
> 
> if you want to support me you can follow my instagram: Triscia02line :3

It is simply unbelievable how the apparently smallest things can have such great impact on our lives, how they can shape us in such unexpected and unique ways.

Receiving that book of tales was surely a turning point in the little prince’s life, probably one of the most important in his whole childhood.

Nightmare, after curiously observing the beautiful illustration which had easily charmed him, started reading. Of course at that age he wasn’t the fastest and he didn’t even know the meaning of all the words, smart or not he was still a kid. But what he was able to understand was enough to enchant him.

He had never read anything like that before, it was totally different from the manuscripts he would read with his teachers during his lessons. Since he learnt how to read he had always quiet enjoyed the activity, but reading this book was to a totally on another level.

Soon enough the little kid, who just few minutes before was quiet sleepy, couldn’t move his eyes from the smoothly blank inked written words which danced in the pages until they disappeared as the boy started visualizing what he was reading.

He had never used his imagination like that before, he wasn’t even aware he could do something like that, but he was absolutely fascinated by his discovery. He wondered if that was what his grandfather meant when he talked about drowning and getting lost into the pages of the tales.

Time passed and the Nightmare didn’t even notice until eventually, out of tiredness, he fell asleep with his face pressed against the paper, his mind still travelling across the tales.

From that moment on, reading became Nightmare’s favorite hobby. His room filled with tales of every kind and size and he would read them at every given chance. Reading became at the same time part of his routine and also the only thing able to break it. While every day was the pretty much the same, with rarely something unusual happening, whenever he would start reading the prince would start new adventures each time different from the ones he had read about before. Just a couple of minutes into reading and he wouldn’t be anymore sat on his bed, he would be on a ship plowing the waves, or deep into the forest meeting fantastic creatures, or at the search of some magic object lost in time and space or maybe accompanying the hero in his task of rescuing someone they loved.

Every book was a new journey, some had defined characters and complex plots, others were just legends and songs which echoed in his head, others were poems so beautiful in their simple complexity he would think about the meaning of the poet’s words for weeks and weeks and so on.

Different people had different opinions about his passion for books and tales. The servants would smile shaking fondly their head whenever they would find him reading, of course that always quiet and mysterious baby growing up would like reading. His grandfather clearly approved his passion and was the one who gifted him the most beautiful and precious book tales he had. On the opposite side, the king didn’t seem very fond of his son’s new activity. Nightmare thought it was because, being always a quiet concrete man, he probably considered reading tales somehow a bit childish waste of time. Which didn’t make much sense as the little prince himself caught his father often going around with ancient books with him. Even if he didn’t seem to approve too much Nightmare’s passion and more than once tried to get the prince into other hobbies, he still didn’t really do anything to stop him so Nightmare decided to just avoid doing it when he wasn’t around, not such a hard task as the man was often away.

Reading became a major part of Nightmare’s life and after several years he realized three important things.   
The first one, was that reading was nothing like what his grandfather had described him. Reading to him didn’t feel like drowning into the pages, it felt more like flying through them, he understood the characters ideals, but he didn’t always share them, he and the characters, for how realistic they could be, remained always two separated entities. He always stayed his own persona and never got himself lost into their ambitions.  
The second one, was that success requires sacrifice. It was also something he had studied during his lessons about military strategies, sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war, sometimes you have to sacrifice someone to save lots. Every magic object had a price, often a high one. But for magic, power and morals sacrifices are needed. For the greater good sacrifices are demanded and he became aware that in the future, when he became king, he was going to have to make sacrifices. What was exactly that greater good he would sacrifice for? That was still a question with no answer.  
The third and final thing he realized, was what was missing in his capital. He read about all those cities in far lands, how lively they were, how colorful they were, he read about all those parties and dances and huge festivals filled with loud music and the excited chatting and cheering of people. At first he was confused, he liked his country the way it was, quiet and calm. But as time passed and he grew up he realized how much happier his reign would be if it was a bit more like those far kingdom. His country was calm and peaceful, but there was no equilibrium, there was a missing spark. It took a while, but he finally realized how much he himself was deeply missing that spark. How could he ever bring something so abstract to his country, how could he ever give his people something he himself lacked of?

He didn’t really give up, but with time that goal, that missing spark slipped in the back of his mind and he really didn’t think much about it. As he grew up he was busier and busier to the point that when he read, mostly before going to bed, he wouldn’t ponder anymore too much about the secrets and details in tales. Too drained out to focus much on it he would simply enjoy visiting briefly those far lands, unconsciously trying to reach that missing spark with his imagination.

Things didn’t change for long, at least not until his 19th birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is the last "introduction" chapter. From the next one finally Nightmare's adventures will start and you will be finally able to enjoy some good action and dialogues! I hope you liked these chapters, i just wanted to describe you some more of Nightmare so you could really understand better the context. I hope you liked it, have a lovely day!
> 
> if you want to support me you can follow my instagram: Triscia02line :3


	5. Chapter 5: the apple pendant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Finally from this chapter action will finally start! Everything is finally settled down and the adventure can finally begin! I hope you'll enjoy this, leave me your opinions in the comments! Have a lovely day and if you want to support me follow me on my instagram @triscia02line!

Nightmare’s 19th didn’t seem any different from all the other ones. He did his birthday day routine as all the years: he ate his favorite foods, he passed most of the day in the capital enjoying the quiet relaxing atmosphere, he passed some time with his father and before going to bed, after reading some chapters of a book he was particularly enjoying, he would admire the view of the city lightened by the little nightchildren flowers.

As many years before, his night routine was suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted by a soft knock at the door. The prince allowed whoever was on the other side to come in. His polite and composed expression melted into something softer and his eyes showed soft genuine happiness and curiosity as he recognized his unexpected guest as a particular servant he respected and was attached to.

Even if the visit wasn’t planned it was surely gladly welcomed by the prince who greeted the servant with a little rare smile. “Greetings Prince Night” the woman said still respectful even if she had pretty much raised the young man in front of him.

Nightmare nodded, before he could even greet back or ask about the reason of her visit the woman continued satisfying his curiosity before he could even express it “Today is your birthday, I found it the right occasion to give you something special” She said coming closer.

This indeed ended making Nightmare even more curios, it wasn’t unusual for some of the servants to give something to him on his birthday, but from how the humble woman was talking it seemed as it was going to be something quiet special. The servant, knowing that she got the boy’s attention waited on propose a few seconds before continuing her speech to lightly tease the prince who looked at her becoming more and more impatient even if on the surface he looked totally calm. The wait, avoiding answering the teasing which would lead to a waste of time, was a little sacrifice to satisfy his curiosity.

The woman who could easily read the boy’s feelings smiled more before finally approaching him and handing him a little object, Nightmare took it and immediately studied it carefully “a silver necklace?” the prince asked softly as he used his thumb to caress lightly the object.

It wasn’t just a pendant, the material looked like silver, but at the same time it didn’t feel like it. The shine it had under the moonlight was unique, not comparable to anything he had ever seen before. On the necklace there was a pendant with an unusual shape. The trinket, made in the same mysterious material represented half an apple, with a soft swirl where the other half should have been.

Somehow it looked unusually familiar. Before Nightmare could reflect more on the object he turned to the smiling woman with a thankful expression.

“It is really beautiful Nana” He said his words spoken in and indeed happy and thankful but at the same time calm tone. The woman nodded and in the quietness of the room raised a hand and placed it on the boy’s head for a couple of seconds “I really wanted you to have it Prince Night, I’ve kept it for long enough and it is time for it to go back to its rightful owner” she said as she helped Nightmare putting it on even if he was going to sleep.

The weight of the pendant felt just so right, as if it was always meant to be there. Nightmare had never felt like that before, he didn’t ask how Nana found the jewel or how it seemed to fit perfectly on him. The old woman had always had this “motherly instinct” as she liked to call it and after many years trying to figure out how she would just always know what do or say to him since he was a kid, he had finally just decided that it was a mystery he was never going to understand.

They had a soft chatting about his day for a few more minutes and after thanking her again, the prince was left alone in his room. He went to his window as he smiled observing the quiet light of the little nightchildren flowers giving the city such surrealistic and magic aspect, it was always a beautiful view he could never get tired of.

As he enjoyed the stunning scenery his hand went once again to the pendant now resting on his chest as he lifted it up to observe it, to study it. It was indeed strange, the little object was clearly just a half, there was a missing part, but at the same time it felt complete on its own. It intrigued him and he kept observing it, but it also slightly frustrated him. His memory had always been perfect, but as he observed the beautiful object he really couldn’t place where the familiar vibes it had came from. It wasn’t just because apples were a pretty common fruit, it was something more, something much deeper he couldn’t really place.

He frowned to himself as he kept scanning his memories over and over again as he observed the pendant, but as nothing came to his mind he let out a bit frustrated sigh. He decided the best option was probably to go to sleep, maybe he was too tired to remember or maybe tiredness was causing that weird feeling which actually meant nothing.

Brushing the weird sensation off he decided to just go to bed. He didn’t take off his necklace as he laid down, it just felt right to keep it on. It really seemed to be made for him to wear it.

The next day everything went on as usual, the only little difference was the somehow comforting weight of the pendant on his neck. The weird feeling didn’t disappear or clear up as he had hoped, he found himself often frowning and staring at the necklace through the day. His teacher didn’t even scold him when he got distracted, they were too shocked and confused to do so. In all their life they had never seen Nightmare loose his focus during lessons, when he suddenly started to do so they weren’t really sure if being concerned for the sudden change of attitude or being relieved the young prince was showing for once a typical behavior of someone of his age.

Nightmare felt embarrassed and frustrated by his own new conduct, getting distracted wasn’t like him. He tried taking off the necklace and just leave it in his room while he was at lesson but it wouldn’t work. Whenever he left the necklace behind he would feel somehow uncomfortable, as if something important was missing. He would feel cold without the light weight of the pendant on his chest, his hand would constantly raise trying to get a grip on the missing object and at the end of the day he would be much more upset than when he had the necklace with him. He had never felt like that before, he couldn’t figure out what was so special about that pendant, what was so magnetic about it and why in just a few days it became an object he couldn’t be pulled apart from.

This sudden change in his life was surely destabilizing and he was unable to give any rational explanation to it. The only thing he could really do was to constantly wear the necklace and whenever he had some free time try to figure out why he felt such deep connection with it. The fail in his memory wasn’t helping him either as it was also something which had never happened before and frustrated him non-stop as he started spending more and more of his free time staring and playing with the little object hoping something, anything would just appear in his mind and explain it all.

As if this all wasn’t enough, since he got the necklace, that feeling of something missing went back stronger than ever in his mind, tormenting him at night. The constant view of that half apple shaped jewel somehow hunted him as the knowledge of the absence of that special spark became more and more prominent. Suddenly he started finding his peaceful routine borderline boring, he would see his country and think that for how peaceful it could be it was also dull and grey and seeing none doing anything about it, not doing anything about it himself and not even knowing why that pendant was awakening all those feelings and thoughts exasperated him.

He, of course, could have asked more information to Nana, but Nightmare had always been quiet independent and even if he knew the old servant was the last person in the castle who would ever judge him, he also didn’t want to appear childish or make it look as if he didn’t appreciate the gift.

Eventually he decided that it was everything in his head and he should just go on with his routine. As more weeks passed he eventually got used to the new weird feelings. He would still often raise his hand to squeeze or play with the little pendant, but it wouldn’t distract him anymore and slowly his life was back to the usual routine.

Just as everything seemed to be back to normal and the necklace thoughts had slipped in the back of his mind, another unexpected event woke up once more Nightmare’s curiosity.

It happened during one of those rare occasions where the king was home and he would have dinner with his son. Everything was quiet at the table but for the sound of the silverware and some soft chatting exchanged once in a while. It had always been like this and Nightmare was familiar with that quietness that had always reigned both in and outside the castle. Even so, the conversation was even more one-sided than usual; for a couple of years to that point the king had seemed to become more and more serious and exhausted, which was probably due the fact that he was pretty much never home anymore. Nightmare didn’t remember having a dinner with him in more than a month, he actually didn’t remember to have seen him since his birthday. Added to this, he knew his father was getting ready for a particular long expedition which, for what a tool it was taking on the usual stoic man, appeared to be a matter of extremely importance and difficulty.

Nightmare wasn’t usually too chatty, but he still decided to lead the conversation so his father could relax and limit himself to simple listen to him without needing to answer with much more than a nod once in a while.

The dinner was overall peaceful, the prince was talking about a new trick he learnt with the sword when suddenly and abruptly the king interrupted him “Where did you get that?” he asked making Nightmare nearly freeze for a fraction of second. He wasn’t sure what his father was talking about until following his gaze he found out the man was staring at the necklace that the prince had unconsciously started fidgeting with during their conversation.

“Did your grandfather gave it to you?” the uncharacteristically impatient king asked “I-“ Nightmare never stuttered, but the situation was so sudden and surreal for a second he wasn’t sure what to do, but he quickly regained his composure “it is a gift, Nana gave it to me on my birthday” he answered simply with the truth confused about what was the big deal with it.

His father didn’t seem too convinced with the answer, he seemed borderline frantic to Nightmare who was totally taken back by his behavior. Before anything else could be added to the conversation a guard entered into the dining room putting a stop to everything “I am sorry to interrupt you my king, but the general wants to discuss some details regarding the expedition with you. He said is something urgent sir”

The king seemed to snap back to reality to those words as he nodded before looking once more to Nightmare and, after staring for a couple of seconds more to the pendant, he quickly brushed the topic off as if it wasn’t a big deal and as if he wasn’t the one overacting about it just a few seconds before. The man ended the conversation excusing himself as he followed the guard out of the room leaving a puzzled Nightmare behind who after staring to the necklace for a couple of minutes decided to finally get up and leave.

This wasn’t something normal, he, to that point, had the certainty that there was something behind that necklace and he decided to go to talk with the one who thought was going to have all the answers as always. His grandfather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Finally from this chapter action will finally start! Everything is finally settled down and the adventure can finally begin! I hope you'll enjoy this, leave me your opinions in the comments! Have a lovely day and if you want to support me follow me on my instagram @triscia02line!


	6. Chapter 6: not legends, tales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay- honestly i am extreamly proud of this chapter jdovosfsndvosw I got my first comment today it really motivated me! Soooo, finally things are starting getting spicy- I hope you enjoyed this chapater! If you do leave a comment below and if you want to support me follow me on my instagram: @triscia02line

Nightmare was to that point quiet determined into getting some answers. All this situation appeared really surreal to him, if he was less puzzled maybe he would have found nearly amusing how it all seemed one of those intricate mysteries he enjoyed so much to read about.

As he walked to his grandfather’s habitation his mind kept working no stop trying to put together all the weird things that had been going on. First of all there was of course the necklace’s effect on him. Why did it feel so familiar? Where had he seen that peculiar shape? Why couldn’t he seem to be able to take it off without feeling uneasiness? Then there was his father’s odd behavior. How he abruptly interrupted him, how he seemed so upset about the pendant, how his usual calm tone was sterner and much more tensed than usual. Nightmare didn’t remember to have ever seen his father anything less than perfectly calm and resolute, never losing control or letting his feelings take over him, not until he saw the necklace. And then there was the last new mystery, why was his father convinced his grandfather had given the necklace to him? That didn’t make any sense.

All these thoughts hunted him as Nightmare kept walking through empty corridors, some torches and the moon light through the huge windows as his only company, the echo of his steps muffled by the thick carpets covering the floor. To that point he knew for a fact there was something going on and he was going to get at the end of this before it started affecting more his family and as a consequence his all reign.

The prince finally arrived to the part of the castle where his grandfather lived, he knew the man’s health had become fragile as years had passed by, but his mind was still as sharp as it had always been even if he had his weird habits, his ideals strong and his word law for the country. Everyone respected the old man and Nightmare was surely close as he could be with him as their relationship grew stronger thanks to their shared passion for books and tales, a type of bond the prince had never seemed to be able to have with his much more stoic and distant father.

Nightmare hadn’t seen his grandfather for a good month too, he knew the old man, even if he didn’t go on battle anymore, was still extremely busy with his kingdom. The old king could pass weeks without going out from his room and Nightmare deeply admired his dedication to his country and never really dared to interrupt him.

Not until that night; the matter at his hands, for how unusual it could be, to his eyes seemed urgent enough to push him to seek for his grandfather’s immediate advice even at the cost of distracting him from his job for a few minutes. A little sacrifice for the greatest good, that was what he taught him after all.

Once he arrived in front of the huge door which would lead to the man’s room he didn’t really feel nervous, he had a mission and knew his grandfather would understand his concerns. He still stood in front of the entrance for some seconds as he gathered together his thoughts before he eventually raised his hand to knock. From the other side he heard his grandfather allowing whoever it was to come in, his voices sounded much more serious than what he had ever heard, probably he was busy with the next day’s expedition too.

Nightmare slide into the room bowing lightly his head in sign of respect as he greeted the old man who seemed surprised to see him there, but also intrigued by the sudden change in his routine. As he was finally under his grandfather’s eyes Nightmare started feeling slightly nervous. The old man always believed in him, he always looked at him in that particular way as if he thought he was special, as if he was curious about seeing each move of his knowing at some point he would do something great. Nightmare was determined to not disappoint his expectations, he quickly regained his confidence as he got closer to the old king.

Nightmare glanced for a couple of seconds to the fireplace before talking. The room was extremely warm, they were heading into the heart of spring and the room was filled with candles of many sizes to illuminate every corner. The warmth was a mixture between familiar and borderline suffocating as Nightmare preferred lower temperatures.

“I was having dinner with father” he started as he tried to quickly think of the best way to describe what happened just a few moments before “but he started behaving in an unusual way when he saw my neckl-“ in the same way as earlier that night he was interrupted, this time by a hand suddenly reaching out for him as his grandfather had stand up from his armchair getting close in just seconds.

His eyes widened as his grandfather was suddenly much closer to him and with a bit shaky hand was holding the pendant, bringing it close to his face so he could study it nearly half chocking Nightmare in the process.

The prince was absolutely baffled as he instinctively would have pulled away, but somehow he managed to stay calm and simply moved slightly in a more comfortable position as he observed how his grandfather stared to the precious pendant.

“Where did you find this?” He immediately asked making Nightmare frown a bit “It is a birthday present” he answered a bit vaguely, not wanting Nana to be more involved until he figured it out what was going on. “Father thought you were the one who gave it to me” he added; it wasn’t a simple statement, it was indirectly a question and he knew the wise man in front of him would get it.

He stayed in position as his grandfather kept staring to the object before looking to him as if he was searching something in his expression, the old’s man eyes had a spark he had seen before only when they talked about tales and legends.

“I apologize for my reaction, I didn’t mean to startle you” the old man said finally pulling away but his gaze never really left the boy and in particular the necklace which was once more resting on his chest. In an automatic motion Nightmare raised a hand to get a grip on the pendant, unconsciously wanting to make sure it was still there.

The old man noticed the movement and somehow the smile on his lips widened some more “I think it is time to talk with you about a really special tale” those words only puzzled more Nightmare, but still followed his grandfather as he moved back to his armchair.

“You know the difference between a history book and a legend” the old man started and Nightmare nodded to that “history books are real, they talk about our past: battles, lands and kings once existed. They are reality. On the other hand, legends are only vaguely based on real events, but after so many years of being told in generation to generation they have changed shape and imaginary creatures, magic and random characters were added to explain what appeared impossible. The product is something that resembles reality, but isn’t really it anymore” the young prince explained so that the wise man in front of him could correct him in case he had a distorted view.

The man nodded in approval to his words “There are legends, there are history books and then there are tales. Often this last term in incorrectly used as another word for legends, or fictional books. But tales are actually the point where history books and legends meet” he started explaining making sure Nightmare was following him.

“Tales talk about magic beings and objects who really existed and sometimes still exist in our time. They can’t be considered pure fruit of imagination as legends and at the same time they can’t be written in history books because they aren’t as straightforward as the description of a battle, they have to be analyzed and interpreted to be understood” the old man said as Nightmare registered the information and immediately started analyzing it in his head.

How could you discern a legend from a tale? Voices about magical beings were actually truth? He knew there were some being capable of extraordinary things somewhere, but their existence was always dancing on the line between superstition, fantasy and reality.

He glanced briefly to his necklace. Was it a magical object too? How had he never heard about it before? He knew lot of legends (or should he call some of them tales to this point?), but he had never heard of an apple shaped necklace before. He was sure about that.

“Among all these tales, that necklace belongs to a really specific one. A tale deeply bounded to our kingdom.” Nightmare was paying his grandfather fully attention not wanting to miss a single word, desiring intensely to dissipate the fog around his necklace’s origins when suddenly someone barked into the room.

Nightmare turned, eyes widening slightly as he saw once more his father. He had never seen him like that, his expression only apparently stoic hide just under the surface a series of feelings he couldn’t really identity of an unimaginable intensity. His lips were strained in a thin line, the skin on his forehead and around his mouth tensed, his breath slightly shorter than usual, his dark eyes focused on his grandfather as if he was checking every single move of the old man.

“This ends now” he said tone serious and filled with authority but also a hint of something else which Nightmare was again unable to identify “I won’t let you fill his head with all those insane fantasies.” he said maintaining his tone somehow calm, but still clearly meaning that there was no possibility of discussion over the topic. To those words, the oldest in the room got up again abruptly from his armchair towering somehow in the room even with his deteriorate health “Insane fantasies?!How dare you-“ before he could finish the phrase he started coughing quiet violently, bending on himself as his body shook.

Nightmare was frozen in his place, feeling absolutely helpless, a simple witness in the room, being unable to do anything but observe the scene playing in front of his eyes. Before he could even think to move to support his grandfather, his father had let go of everything and was to his side.

The prince could only notice how his expression had changed once more, stoic as always, now that he was closer to the fireplace, the flames illuminated his face in a way which remarked the soft wrinkles already making their first appearance. The king had never looked to him as tired as in that moment.

“Nightmare, go to your room” he simply said before leaving half carrying his own father who was still slightly coughing with him probably to get him checked on before leading him to bed.

The prince stayed frozen in place for some more, his quick mind unusually slow to process what had just happened. He didn’t freak out, he simply stayed there for a couple of seconds before composing again himself as he started processing it all. As he took a step to leave the room, his foot met something.

He looked down to see an open book at his feet. He frowned a bit before he noticed it was the book his father often carried around and always took with him during his expeditions. He must have let it fall when he moved to help his grandfather.

Normally Nightmare would have simply picked it up and put him on a table, or maybe take it to his father’s room knowing how precious it was to him. But as he crouched down to pick it up his eyes widened as they fell on a beautiful illustration showing on a random page on the open book.

It was a beautiful woman.

A beautiful woman wearing a necklace.

A beautiful woman wearing the same necklace as Nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay- honestly i am extreamly proud of this chapter jdovosfsndvosw I got my first comment today it really motivated me! Soooo, finally things are starting getting spicy- I hope you enjoyed this chapater! If you do leave a comment below and if you want to support me follow me on my instagram: @triscia02line

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfiction on Undertale I really hope you'll like it! Comments are really really appreciated! I am also a begginer artist i may even do some illustration of this in the future, so if you want to see them and support me follow my instagram @triscia02line! Hope you have a good time reading this fanfic, have a lovely day!
> 
> (I apologise for typos english isn't my first lenguage)


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